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Wednesday, December 28, 2016

Let's look, ponder, and analyze their "forums, themes, and thinkers" series as well as their peace, culture, and education videos in light of Nichiren Daishonin's Buddhism. Can we find one mention of Namu Myoho renge kyo, Gohonzon, or Kaiden? Can we find one instance of remonstrance of Christianity, Provisional Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, or Judiasm? Can we find one mention of the Lotus Sutra and Nichiren Daishonin in the millions of words written and spoken?

They are putting the cart before the horse. Even a six year old is aware of the problems facing humanity. Efforts to create awareness of the problems is hardly the means for eradicating them, let alone lamenting about humanity's lack of awareness. Nichiren Daishonin teaches:

"But despite all these efforts, they merely exhaust themselves in vain. Famine and epidemics rage more fiercely than ever, beggars are everywhere in sight, and scenes of death fill our eyes. Corpses pile up in mounds like observation platforms, and dead bodies lie side by side like planks on a bridge."

Nichiren goes on to say:

"I have pondered the matter carefully with what limited resources I possess, and have looked a little at the scriptures for an answer. The people of today all turn their backs upon what is right; to a person, they give their allegiance to evil. This is the reason that the benevolent deities have abandoned the nation and departed together, that sages leave and do not return. And in their stead devils and demons come, and disasters and calamities occur. I cannot keep silent on this matter. I cannot suppress my fears."

"The host said: There are numerous passages that could be cited and a wide variety of proofs. For example, in the Golden Light Sutra we read: “[The four heavenly kings said to the Buddha], ‘Though this sutra exists in the nation, its ruler has never allowed it to be propagated. In his heart he turns away from it, and he takes no pleasure in hearing its teachings. He neither makes offerings to it, honors it, nor praises it. Nor is he willing to honor or make offerings to the four kinds of Buddhists who embrace the sutra. In the end, he makes it impossible for us and the other countless heavenly beings who are our followers to hear this profound and wonderful teaching. He deprives us of the sweet dew of its words and cuts us off from the flow of the correct teaching, so that our majesty and strength are drained away. Thus the number of beings who occupy the evil paths increases, and the number who dwell in the human and heavenly realms decreases. People fall into the river of the sufferings of birth and death and turn their backs on the road to nirvana."

Yet, the advocates of Ikedaism council:

"Dr. Ikeda recalled Dewey's assertion that it is “the religious” rather than any specific religion that is of importance and noted that “the religious” is not a species of dogma, but rather a quality that can permeate experiences of many types, including those that are aesthetic, educative, and even political. It was in this connection that Dr. Ikeda associated the long-term viability of any form of religious expression with the degree to which it is capable of balancing and harmonizing internal and external forces in ways that promote positive social change." -- Larry Hickman

"...Outwardly they will seem to be wise and good, but within they will harbor greed and jealousy. [And when they are asked to preach the teachings, they will say nothing,] like Brahmans who have taken a vow of silence. They are not true monks—they merely have the appearance of monks. Consumed by their erroneous views, they slander the correct teaching.

When we look at the world in the light of these passages of scripture, we see that the situation is just as they describe it. If we do not admonish the evil priests, how can we hope to do good?"

Is SGI "family revolution" the dissolution of marriage or was it their incorrect faith, weak practice, failure to follow mentor's guidance, or moral turpitude? Seems like it was moral turpitude if we are to believe Justin Bieber. Either way, the bottom line is, there is no actual proof in the Ikeda faith.

SGIQuarterly: In the struggle against apartheid, how did you maintain hope in the face of such daunting circumstances? How can people regain and maintain a sense of hope in the face of complex global problems today?

Bishop Desmond Tutu: I believed then as I still do that this is God's world and that God is in charge; that this is a moral universe and that ultimately goodness, right and justice will prevail over their ghastly counterparts. And I knew too that many were upholding us with their fervent prayers, and we owe a great deal to all those who were part of the international antiapartheid movement.

Yes, it is not easy, but they should hang on to the belief that right will eventually triumph.

SGIQ: As an individual who has long been on the forefront of the struggle for human rights, what is your message to the youth of a new generation confronting their own struggles to build a world in which the dignity of all is recognized and respected?

DT: I admire young people. They are amazing in their idealism believing that we can have a world without war, without poverty and disease. I say to them, "Dream your dreams of a better world, dream the dream of God!"

"Aside from these people, some of my disciples might not be spared from this calamity of falling into the Hell of Incessant Suffering upon death. Those who disdained and hurt the Never -Despising (Fukyo) Bodhisattva fell into the Hell of Incessant Suffering upon death for as long as 1,000 kalpa. It was due to their great sin of slandering the bodhisattva that they were paid such a hard fate, although they had believed in, respected, followed, and obeyed the bodhisattva while in this life.

Now, the same could be said of disciples of Nichiren. If they believe in, respect, follow, and obey me in name only without heart, they will no doubt suffer in the Hell of Incessant Suffering for the period of one, two, ten, or one hundred, if not one thousand, kalpa. If you wish to be saved from this, you should each practice just as the Medicine-King Bodhisattva did; he set his arm afire to offer it as a light to the Buddha; or Gyobo Bonji, who skinned himself to write the dharma on his own skin. Just as Sessen Doji and Suzu Danno did, you should sacrifice your own life or serve your masters from the bottom of your heart in search of the dharma. Otherwise, you should beseech the Buddha for help, bowing to Him with your four limbs and face touching the ground, dripping with sweat. Otherwise, you should pile up rare treasures in front of the Buddha as an offering to Him. If that is not possible, you must become servants to the upholders of the dharma. Or you should practice some other ways according to the principle of the four ways of teaching. Among my disciples those whose faith is shallow will show at the moment of death the sign of falling into the Hell of Incessant Suffering. Do not blame me for it then!"

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BACKGROUND

The addressee of this letter is Oto Gozen, but in reality it is believed to have been written to her mother, Nun Nichimyo. When the nun took her daughter, Oto Gozen, to Sado to see Nichiren Daishonin in exile in the 5th month of the 9th year in the Bun'ei Era (1272), her daughter was still an infant. It is assumed, therefore, that she was still a child when this letter was written three years later, in the first year of the Kenji Era (1275). Judging from a statement in this letter, "I would imagine Oto Gozen has become matured and wise," it is only natural to assume that it was addressed to her mother. Commending Nun Nichimyo, who had visited Nichiren on Sado Island earlier all the way from Kamakura, for coming to see him again on Mt. Minobu, Nichiren Daishonin explained the comparative superiority between Mahayana and Hinayana sutras and provisional and true sutras, comparing them with small and large ships and rocks and gold.

The SGI Bible of Shakubuku (1951), supervised by Daisaku Ikeda,was published by the Soka Gakkai to train believers. The SokaGakkai no longer publishes the Bible of Shakubuku because itpromotes the Nichiren Shoshu. Nevertheless, SGI's fundamentaldoctrines have not changed except for denying that the heritage ofthe Law is transmitted through the person of High Priest of NichirenShoshu. Now they claim that the heritage is only transmitted throughthe Successive Presidents of the Soka Gakkai.

"Shakyamuni's dharma is the dharma of the past and no longerbeneficial". (page 63, The Bible of Shakubuku)

Nichiren taught that Shakyamuni's Lotus Sutra is the only teachingto be spread in the Latter Day.

"It is necessary to realize that we no longer have a connectionto Shakyamuni's Buddhism." (page 65, The Bible of Shakubuku)

Nichiren taught that we are the direct disciples of the OriginalEternal Buddha Shakyamuni.

"You should know that Nichiren Daishonin is the only true Buddhabecause Shakamuni's Buddhism is useless." (page 67, The Bible ofShakubuku)

Nichiren taught that Shakyamuni Buddha is the Original Eternal Buddhaand we can not even discard the Theoretical Section of the Lotus Sutra,let alone the Essential Section.

"Buddha Shakamuni is inferior to the true Buddha Nichiren." (page316, The Bible of Shakubuku)

Nichiren taught that all Buddhas throughout the past, present,and future, are emanations of Shakyamuni Buddha. He also taughtthat those who abandon Shakyamuni will fall into the Avici hell.

"The Lotus Sutra which is the long-cherished wish of BuddhaShakamuni is no longer valid in this era, not in the least." (page93,The Bible of Shakubuku)

Nichiren says the Lotus Sutra is the ultimate teaching of the past,present, and future

"If you don't worship the Gohonzon of NST (SGI), you will know nowell-being in the age of Mappo." (page70, The Bible of Shakubuku)

Yet, the deluded SGI members criticize us for pointing out that theNichikan Gohonzon breeds evil men.

'If you worship the Honzon of a wicked religion, you will naturallyexperience misfortune (page280, The Bible of Shakubuku).

The misfortune of the SGI senior leaders and their family members,is actual proof that they worship a Honzon of a wicked religion andthe tremendous good fortune of the believers in the Kempon Hokkeis proof of the righteousness of our Honzon and the goodness of ourreligion.

"All other sects except NST (SGI) are wicked religions and are anegative influence on society. (page280, The Bible of Shakubuku)

The reality is that wherever the SGI has spread, the people havesuffered every manner of misfortune and even their own membersobtain neither merit nor virtue.

"The teachings of Buddha Shakamuni is as useless as last year'scalendar. If you are guided by his teachings, your life will surelyfail as a logical result." (page303,The Bible of Shakubuku)

Then why so many unrealized dreams among the Soka Gakkaimembers and why such wonderful benefits in the life of Nichirenbelievers who embrace the Lotus Sutra and Shakyamuni Buddha?

"Every person who doesn't worship the Gohonzon of Fuji-Taiseki temple(SGI) are bad people who slander the true dharma.' (page314, The Bibleof Shakubuku)

Then, the SGI members are bad because, according to their own criteria,they slander the "true dharma" of Fuji-Taisekiji temple. The reality isthat they are bad people, especially their high salaried leaders, forother real and serious transgressions: For abandoning the Lotus Sutraand Lord Shakyamuni Buddha and exploiting the Dharma for personalgain.

"The family which believes in the so-called Nichiren-shu will havechildren who have deformities, mental retardation or madness."(page321, The Bible of Shakubuku)

Then, why do so many children of SGI top senior leaders never makeit past their twenty first birthday while most Nichiren Shu priests' andbelievers' children not only survive but thrive? The reason is that theSGI's leaders curses and particularly Ikeda's curses have returned to theoriginator. For slandering votaries of the Lotus Sutra they or their SGIfamily members suffer every manner of disease and death before they growold.

"All other sects except NST (SGI) are false heresies who exert abad influence on society." (page323, The Bible of Shakubuku)Then, why does France label the SGI a dangerous cult and hasDaisaku Ikeda never once received an award or honor from hisown people, the Japanese

SGI newbie. She told me they are requesting that she pass the SGI beginners exam before they would give her Gohonzon. I told her that taking an exam, especially an exam tangential to True Buddhism [one based on Ikedaism], was not the criteria that Nichiren used in bestowing Gohonzon. I told her to chant morning and evening, keep a clean altar, read the Lotus Sutra, read the writings of Nichiren, and come to my home to chant with me and I would bestow upon her a copy of a Nichiren Gohonzon rather than an SGI knockoff.

"During the entire fifty years of Shakyamuni’s teaching, only in the last eight years did he preach the twenty- eight chapters of the Lotus Sutra. Again, of all these chapters, only in the eight chapters did he reveal and transfer the object of devotion to the Bodhisattvas of the Earth. During the two millennia of the Former and Middle Days of the Law, statues were made showing Mahakashyapa and Ananda flanking the Shakyamuni Buddha of Hinayana, and Manjushri and Universal Worthy flanking the Shakyamuni Buddha of the provisional Mahayana, the Nirvana Sutra, and the theoretical teaching of the Lotus Sutra.

Even though statues and paintings were made of these Shakyamuni Buddhas during the two millennia, no image or statue was made of the Buddha of the “Life Span” chapter. Only in the Latter Day of the Law will the representation of that Buddha appear." -- The True Object of Worship

"I have made a vow. Even if someone says that he would make me the ruler of Japan on the condition that I give up the Lotus Sutra and rely upon the Amida Sutra for my salvation in the next life, or even if someone threatens me saying that he will execute my parents if I do not say 'Namu Amida-butsu,' and no matter how many great difficulties fall upon me, I will not submit until a man of wisdom defeats me by reason. Other difficulties are like dust in the wind. I will never break my vow that I will become the pillar of Japan, I will become the eyes of Japan, and I will become the great vessel of Japan." -- Kaimoku Sho (Opening the Eyes)

"When all the people under heaven and the various schools of Buddhism are converted to the one and real vehicle, and when only the Lotus Sutra flourishes and all the people recite 'Namu Myoho Renge-kyo' in unison, the howling wind will not blow down the branches, falling rain will not erode the soil, and the world will become as it was during the reigns of the Chinese Emperors Fu-hsi and Shan-neng. You will see that such times will come when calamities cease to exist, people live long meaningful lives, and men and their faith become eternal. There should be no doubt about the proof of tranquility in this very life." -- On Practicing According to Teachings (An Instruction from Sado to Disciples and Followers)"Among the people who believe in the Lotus Sutra today, some people's faith is like fire and other's faith is like water. Some people are aroused like burning fire during a sermon, but once they go away they forget all that they heard. When I say 'like water,' I mean a person who has constant faith. You have always called on me without fail, and therefore, your faith is like water. This is wonderful." -- Ueno-dono Gohenji (A Reply to Lord Ueno)

"Be it for good or for evil, abandoning the Lotus Sutra must be the karma of hell." -- Kaimoku Sho (Opening the Eyes)"I, Nichiren, too, by reciting these compilations of texts and making prayers and vows to the Buddha and the devas (gods) every day since the first day I began to believe, though I have encountered all sorts of great hardships, because the meritorious power of the Lotus Sutra and the Golden Words of Lord Shakya which are profound and serious, up to now, I have been saved. With regard to that, if the Practitioners of the Lotus Sutra have no backsliding in the mind of faith or false affection in their person, but leave themselves to the Lotus Sutra in all things and practice in accordance with the Golden Words, they will for certain, even in this life not to speak of the afterlife, end disasters and extend their lifespan, obtain the reward of the Superior, Sublime Great Effect and accomplish the Great Vow of "widely proclaiming and diffusing." [kosen rufu] -- Kitokyo sojo (Cover Letter to the Sutra for Prayers)

"By the Great Good of the Venerable Maudgalyayana's believing in the Lotus Sutra, not only did he become a Buddha but his father and mother became Buddhas. His father and mother and so on for seven generations up and seven generations down and for immeasurable lives up and immeasurable lives down, beyond any expectation, became Buddhas. And even children, husbands and wives, subordinates, lay donors and immeasurable beings not only left the Three Evil Ways of Rebirth but all became Buddhas from the First Abode to Sublime Enlightenment. What he worships is the Buddha Shakya; the Dharma he believes is the Lotus Sutra." -- Urabon Gosho (Letter on the Urabon)

"I, Nichiren, am the foremost Practitioner of the Lotus Sutra in Japan. If among Nichiren's disciples and lay donors you come later than me, Nichiren, then even before the God Brahman, the Emperor Shakra, the Four Celestial Kings or the Emperor Emma (Yama) declare, 'I am the disciple or believer of the foremost Practitioner of the Lotus Sutra in Japan, the priest Nichiren,' and you shall pass. This Lotus Sutra becomes a ship on the rivers of the Three Paths, the Great White Ox Cart on the Mountain Going Forth in Death, it becomes a lamp on the paths of the underworld and it is a bridge whereby we may go to the Spiritual Mountain.... But it depends on the mind of faith. If just the mind of faith is weak, no matter how much you call yourself a disciple or lay donor of Nichiren, by no means will you be accepted." -- Hakki Dono Gosho

"Bodisattva Fukyo in the past, saying that all beings have the Buddha Nature and if they keep the Lotus Sutra, they will certainly attain Buddhahood and to slight them is tantamount to slighting Buddhas. Thus, he established the Practice of Bowing in Reverence; saying that, even those who do not keep the Lotus Sutra, if they were to keep it, have the Buddha Nature and would become Buddhas. He thus performed Bowing in Reverence in this way to those who did not keep it. How much more to the householders and priests who keep the Lotus Sutra. In the fourth fascicle of this Sutra it is taught that if one demeans, with even one evil word, those who keep and preach the Lotus Sutra, be it a householder or one who has left the household, the magnitude of the sin is beyond the sin of directly disparaging the Buddha Shakya. It is also preached, 'Whether true or untrue, those who keep the Lotus Sutra should not, even forgetfully, disparage each other, should they? The reason is that all those who keep the Lotus Sutra are necessarily Buddhas and to disparage a Buddha is to earn oneself a sin. When one understands it in this way, the merit of the Title (Daimoku) which one chants must be equal to the merit of Lord Shakya."-- Matsuno dono gohenji (Reply to Lord Matsuno)

"As for these three important things, it is not that Nichiren said it. It was the spirit of the Tathagata Shakyamuni that entered into my body and filled it with a joy far greater than what it deserved. This is the important teaching of the Lotus Sutra called 'one thought is three thousand worlds.' The scripture says, 'All existence has such a form ...' What does this mean? Because the 'appearance of suchness,' the first of the Ten Suchnesses, is the most important, the Buddha appeared in the world. The beginning of Nichiren's believing in the Lotus Sutra is like one drop of one atom in the country of Japan. If two people, three people, ten people, and millions and billions of people recite the Lotus Sutra, then it would become the Mt. Sumeru of Subtle Enlightenment or a great ocean of Nirvana. One should not look for any other way for becoming a Buddha." -- Senji Sho (An Essay on the Selection of the Proper Time)

"For instance, those who have a fever can cool off lying beside a great body of cold water, but they will continue to suffer if they lie by the side of a small body of water. Likewise, those who suffer from the five rebellious sins of slandering the true dharma and those who have no faith in Buddhism can not cool the fever of their grave sins by lying beside a small body of water, that is, such sutras as the Agama Sutras, the Kammuryojukyo, and the Great Sun Buddha Sutra. If they lie on the large snow-covered mountain of the Lotus Sutra, they can definitely cool even the fever of the five cardinal sins, the sins of slandering the true dharma, and those of having no faith in Buddhism. "Therefore, the fool must by necessity believe in the Lotus Sutra... The thick rope of evil passions cannot be cut even by the great power of the wise, but it can be easily cut by the powerless fool with the small sword of the Lotus Sutra. "The essence of the Lotus Sutra is 'Namu-myo-ho-ren-ge-kyo.'" -- Ho'on Jo (Recompense of Indebtedness)

"Regarding the Lotus Sutra’s text, meaning and intent, the sutra’s intent is the most important to grasp. The intent lies in arousing faith in the mentor’s teaching to lead all to attain Buddhahood." -- SGI leader's guidance

SGI's intent is to supplant Shakyamuni Buddha and Nichiren Daishonin with Daisaku Ikeda.

"The oneness of mentor and disciple is the very heart of the Lotus Sutra and the essence of Nichiren Daishonin’s teachings, yet the priests try to destroy and cast aside this most crucial element. This is a characteristic of devilish functions, known as “robbers of life.”

To reject the oneness of mentor and disciple is to reject the mutual possession of the Ten Worlds; it constitutes an attack on the fundamental equality of all human beings. The true nature of the Nichiren Shoshu priesthood is revealed here for all to see." (Wisdom of the Lotus Sutra by Daisaku Ikeda, 160–61)

"The Buddha stated that, in the latter age, monks and nuns with the hearts of dogs would be as numerous as the sands of the Ganges. By this he meant that the priests and nuns of that day would be attached to fame and fortune. Because they wear robes and surplices, they look like ordinary priests and nuns. But in their hearts they wield a sword of distorted views, hastening here and there among their patrons and filling them with countless lies so as to keep them away from other priests or nuns. Thus they strive to keep their patrons to themselves and prevent other priests or nuns from coming near them, like a dog who goes to a house to be fed, but growls and springs to attack the moment another dog approaches. Each and every one of these priests and nuns is certain to fall into the evil paths."

"My concern is that people may turn into mere passive receptors of programmed images. Recent research in neuroscience has confirmed that active faculties--such as the ability to think critically, to make decisions, to love and sympathize, to believe in something--tend to grow weaker when we are subjected to such one-way flows of information." -- Daisaku Ikeda talking about the internet

SGI would rather not participate in our dialogue or any real dialogue on the internet. We are open to a spirited dialogue with them and all others. SGI's blogs and "forums" are either inactive or strictly moderated. That is not dialogue. This forum, for the most part, is not moderated. So have your say!

“The World-Honored One in his great mercy makes use of a rare thing, in pity and compassion teaching and converting, bringing benefit to us. In numberless millions of kalpas who could ever repay him? Though we offer him our hands and feet, bow our heads in respectful obeisance, and present all manner of offerings, none of us could repay him. Though we lift him on the crown of our heads, bear him on our two shoulders, for kalpas numerous as Ganges sands reverence him with all our hearts; though we come with delicate foods, with countless jeweled robes, with articles of bedding, various kinds of potions and medicines; with ox-head sandalwood and all kinds of rare gems, construct memorial towers and spread the ground with jeweled robes; though we were to do all this by way of offering for kalpas numerous as Ganges sands, still we could not repay him.” -- Lotus Sutra Chapter 4

“Shakyamuni Buddha our father and mother, who is endowed with the three virtues of sovereign, teacher and parent, is the very one who encourages us, the people driven out by all the other Buddhas, saying, ‘I alone can save them’. The debt of gratitude we owe him is deeper than the ocean, weightier than the earth, vaster than the sky. Though we were to pluck out our two eyes and place them before him as an offering until there were more eyes there than stars in the sky, though we were to strip off our skins and spread them out by the hundreds of ten thousands until they blanketed the ceiling of heaven, though we were to give him our tears as offerings of water and present him with flowers for the space of a hundred billion kalpas, though we were to offer him our flesh and blood for innumerable kalpas, until our flesh piled up like mountains and our blood overflowed like vast seas, we could never repay a fraction of the debt we owe to this Buddha!” -- Nichiren

As a self proclaimed Bodhisattva of the Earth, I endorse and recognise you as a Bodhisattva of the Earth and True follower of Nichiren's Buddhism.

Like others, my faith has taken me on a journey and I have learned to part company with those I believe do not have the correct faith and to align myself, in spirit, with those that I believe do.

When I first started invoking the Dai Moku, I had spiritual and out of body experiences that taught me the correct faith (not shared or understood by those around me in SGI/NichirenShoshu)and not the words of others. Shakyamuni Buddha came to me twice, amongst other experiences and I learnt that telling others did not work as they reinterpreted my experiences to suit their wrong views.

It is comforting to know that I need not rely on corrupt temples, sects or priests for the True practice and I truly know that the Gohonzon is inside us.

For us, Bodhisattvas of the Earth, there is no greater joy than to be in the Ceremony in the Air, where we received the True Teaching in the remote distant past and in the present.

Dear Mark, and others of true faith, continue to follow your heart, giving your whole life completely to the Law of Life itself!

Saturday, December 24, 2016

The ensuing sermon on the comparison between the Lotus Sutra and Christianity (Bible) is paraphrased from the Kempon Hokke Journal and was written by Graham Lamont when he was a member.

Both the Lotus Sutra and the Bible offers salvation through faith.

A bit of background on the Bible before we make the comparison:

An essential teaching of Christianity is the concept of the eternal damnation of the non-believers. The Gospel of Mark 9:43 talks of a fire that can not be put out. Thessalonians 1:8-10 describes a deity of fiery vengence and the eternal loss of those who fail to accept Christianity. Mark 16:16 talks about how the baptized will be saved while those who aren't will be condemned. Equally as important, the Bible specifically excludes certain people from salvation, even if they humbly repent. The Gospels according to Mathew 12:31-32, Mark 3:28-30 and Luke 12:10 teach that those who commit the so-called Sin against the Holy Spirit are guilty of an unforgiving sin and may never hope for salvation.

In Hebrews 6:4-8/12:17/10:26-30 we see that no one commiting apostacy (abandonment or defection) of the christian faith can ever hope to gain salvation even, as in the case of Esau in the Old Testament(Genesis) who regrets his desision, is forever cast aside. Many modern day christians have attempted to "interpret" these passges in a more compassionate and gentle light using clever words and arguments, but the "inspired" words of the Bible remains for all to see and read for themselves. Also, at the whim of their deity one is either doomed or saved. One who is doomed by this merciless deity is Pharoah(Romans 9:17-18 citing Exodus 9:16.), Here, the purport of this deity appears to be to demonstrate his sovereign power. Thessalonians 2:11-12 teaches that this god in full awareness makes people believe falsely, in order to condemn them. They are condemned, not temporarily, as a means of teaching or to correct their misguided belief, but rather on a whim to demonstrate his power and to an eternal unremitting hell. Analagously, Romans 9:20-21 states that we should not question the will of god as we are merely clay for the potter. Christianity is so exclusionary! "for many are called, but few are chosen." (Mathew 22:14) Corinthians 9:22 tells the story of Paul of Tarsus. He saves some people but not others and is quite discriminating of who he saves through his many guises.

To those saved by Christianity it smells like sweet perfume, to those condemned it smells like raw sewage. Those who meet Jesus and the Christians and by predestination do not believe are only confirming their own ruination(Corinthians 2:15-16).

The habitual manifestation of vengence characterizes the Jewish as well as the Christian god. This god acts to cause irrevocable and terrible punishment and the very conclusion of the entire Jewish scripture (Isaiah 66:24) is the revelation of Yahweh(the enemies will be displayed in eternal fire and worms in his antechamber.) Mark 9:48 is the Christian equivalent.

The Lotus sutra, the culmination of the Buddha's wisdom states:

"Of those that hear this Dharma there is not one that does not attain Buddhahood" (Lotus Sutra Chapter 2, Tactfullness)

"In a future era If there are good son's or good daughters who hear the "Chapter of Devedatta" of the Myohokkekyo and with a pure mind believes and reverences, not producing doubts and confusion, they shalll not fall to the hells, hungry ghosts, or beasts but be born with the Buddhas of the Ten directions and in the place where they are born they shall constantly hear this sutra; If they are born among humans or gods they shall receive superior and sublime joy.(ibid. Chapter 12, Devedatta)

These two passages are quite clear on the future of those who either merely just hear the Lotus Sutra or of those who pureheartedly believe.

Now, lets turn to those who do not believe. There are passages in the Hokkekyo which teach of the of the terrible punishment of those who fail to believe and of the worst of all the hells, Avici hell, for those who slander the Sutra or the Sutra's adherents. These passages are found in the 3rd Chapter(Parable), the 10th Chapter (Teacher of the Law) and the 20th Chapter (Bodhisattva Never Despise). Despite the superficial similarites to the Christian hell, not even the worst hell (mugen jigoku), Avici, is eternal. True, it is unremitting while in this realm, but one will without doubt reemerge. Therefore, all the Buddhist hells are at worst equivalent to Christian purgatories.

".... they received great agonies; having ended their punishment, they again met the Bodhisattva Jofukyo (Fukyo) teaching and converting to Supreme Enlightenment."(Chapter 20)

Nichiren affirms too, that those who persecute him will fall into the Avici hell but then will become his disciples and attain Buddhahood. Redemption will come to even those who oppose the Lotus Sutra. What a grand and awe inspiring vision the Buddha paints in this, the summit of his fifty years of preaching!

These teachings are of sublime significance in the context of the entire Buddhist canon, particularly of the Mahayana. Only the Hokkekyo allows the practitioner to fulfill the first of the Four Great Vows of the Bodhisattva (vows which all Bodhisattvas on their spiritual path have promissed to uphold): "beings are innumerable: I vow to save them all." The Buddhism as taught in the other sutras does not enable the practitioner to realize this vow because all of these sutra exclude, in one way or another, one or another class of beings. Some of these sutras exclude those of the Two Vehicles of Hinayana, others exclude evildoers, others those of incorrigeable disbelief (icchantikas), and others women. Even Amida in the Pure Land Sutras (Muryoju Sutra in particular), the so-called savior of the evil people of our age, excludes slanderers of the Dharma or those who commit the five cardinal sins. The Fugen Sutra, the concluding sutra of the Lotus sutra, affirms that the very subjects of the salvation of the Lotus Sutra are blasphemers and those who commit the five cardinal sins. The Lotus Sutra (and the Hikekyo or Flower of Compassion Sutra)) teaches that it is Shakyamuni Buddha who in a former life vowed to accept the beings rejected by the other Pure Lands of the ten directions declaring, "I alone can save them" (Chapter of the Parable).

Christianity, as a religeon that rejects certain sinners, is even more noticeable than those of the provisional sutras of Buddhism, let alone the Lotus Sutra. As seen in the first post above, not only are those who reject Christianity but also those who fall away and even those who utter a single word against the "Holy spirit". not able to achieve salvation but are doomed to eternal damnation. Even though John 3:17 declaresgods intention to save all, the Bible adds an exclusionary clause for unbelievers(John 3:18) which says they are condemned.

The "worst case scenario" is a very useful concept in comparing and contrasting Buddhism and Christianity. Therefore, the comparison between the cases of Devedatta and Judas Iscariot is most instructive. Both of these men represent the epitomy of evil, not only in the sense of worldly evil but more importantly, in the sense of spiritual evil. This evil that pits itself against the very root of salvation itself, the very source figure of salvation in their respective traditions (Christ in Christianity and the Buddha in Buddhism). Devedatta attempts to kill the Buddha and corrupts the morals of King Ajatashatru (Buddhism's rough equivalent to Oedipus. He kills his father, marries his mother, and also attempts to kill the Buddha). Devedatta then fakes his repentance while again planning to murder the Buddha. Judas, possessed by the devil, betrays Jesus leading to Jesus crucifixtion and murder. Devedatta, it is taught, ends up falling into a crevice during an earthquake while Judas is said to have either committed suicide or bursted open (Matthew 27:5 Acts 1:17-18). The ensuing spiritual fates of the two are very different, however.

Judas is destined from the start to be lost.(John 17:12). He is to be condemned before he even acts, "that it would have been better for him never to have been born" even though he later feels remorse. This concept in Christianity is known as meta-melomei (Mathew 27:3). He is predestined "beforehand he is made to do what he does" (John 13:21-30) and his horrendous fate is declared in Mark 14:21, Luke 22:21-22 and Matthew 26:24-25. Again, using clever and disengenuous reasoning, some Christians state that he is really saved by the famous Biblical prayer of Jesus to forgive those who no not what they are doing (Luke 23:24). This is absurd because Judas knew very well the teaching of Jesus and knew perfectly well what he was doing.

As far as Devedatta is concerned. despite his evil and insufferible punishment, we see that Devedatta is promised to attain Supreme Enlightenment as the Tathagata Tenno(Devaraja). Judas is never summoned back in the Christian scriptures and is doomed to hell eternal. Devedatta, the avowed enemy of the Buddha who was well versed in the entire Buddhist Canon (as was Judas in the Christian teachings), and abandoned for more than forty years by every sutra, in the Lotus Sutra, is "summoned back" to become a Buddha.

There is a rational concept in the Buddhism, ko itsu rei sho (mentioning one to illustrate all). This is applicable to this WORST case in Buddhism, that of Devedatta. Since Devedatta has attained (or will attain) to Supreme Enlightenment, matricidal and patricidal murderers, blasphemers, unbelievers, etc. will attain to emancipation by the teaching of the Lotus Sutra let alone us ordinary rabble. In the Lotus Sutra, both slander (unbelief) and belief (in Namu myohho renge kyo) both plant the seeds of Buddhahood. A Sutra passage (?) cited by Chan-jan in referring to the unbounded merit of the Lotus Sutra states, "Hearing the Dharma, bringing forth irreverence and contempt and falling into hell are superior to making offerings to Buddhas numbered as the sands of the Ganges." He goes on to state that one may make an offering to a Buddha without so much as hearing a lesser teaching let alone the Hokkekyo but merely having heard this supreme teaching one will surely attain Buddhahood even if one slanders it.

Who is most in need of salvation, which being or class of beings: the ones who readily accept and embrace the path to "redemption" or those who resist, refuse, are perverse or refractory? To put it another way, who is more in need of salvation those who are inclined to good or those who are inclined to evil? Which religeon abandons the incorrigeable disbeliever and wrongdoer? Which religeon saves the most worthless, corrupt and cowardly? Which religeon truly "forgives" its worst enemies?

"They say that it is as difficult to be born in the realm of human beings as it is to thread a needle by lowering the thread from the heavens, and as rare to see and hear the Buddha’s teachings as it is for a one-eyed turtle to encounter a floating log with a hole just the right size to hold him. Having this in mind and believing that one must regard the body as insignificant and the Law as supreme, the unenlightened man climbed numerous mountains, impelled by his anxiety, going from one temple to another as his feet would carry him. In time he arrived at a rocky cave with green mountains rising sheer behind it. The wind in the pines played a melody of eternity, happiness, true self, and purity, and the emerald stream that bubbled along in front sent its waves striking against the bank with echoes of the perfection of these four virtues. The flowers carpeting the deep valley bloomed with the hue of the true aspect of the Middle Way, and from the plum blossoms just beginning to open in the broad meadow wafted the fragrance of the three thousand realms. Truly it was beyond the power of words to describe, beyond the scope of the mind to imagine. One might have thought it the place where the Four White-Haired Elders of Mount Shang lived, or the site where some ancient Buddha had walked about after meditation. Auspicious clouds rose up at dawn, a mysterious light appeared in the evening. Ah, the mind cannot grasp it nor words set it forth!

The unenlightened man wandered about, pondering what was before him, now pausing in thought, now resuming his steps. Suddenly he came upon a sage. Observing his actions, he saw that the sage was reciting the Lotus Sutra; his voice stirred the seeker deeply. Peering in at the quiet window of the sage’s retreat, he found that the sage was resting his elbows on his desk, pondering the sutra’s profound meaning.

The sage, divining that the unenlightened man was searching for the Law, asked in a gentle voice, “Why have you come to this cave among these far-off mountains?” The other replied, “Because I attach little importance to life but great importance to the Law.”

You certainly have generated a lot of interest from the Soka Gakkai; two Vice General Directors, Ian McIlraith and Bill Aiken. I applaud you.

Ghandi, King, and Ikeda are all controversial men. I will leave aside Dr. King for the moment. The Dalits [untouchables], the oppressed peoples of India of whom I had contact through the editor of the Dalit Voice, VT Rajshekar, are certainly not impressed with the Mahatma [Ghandi]. Those million people who died in the forced March of 1947 too, would not be impressed. According to the Buddhism of Nichiren Daishonin, good intentions are fraught with unintended consequences when not based on the Lotus Sutra and the teachings of Shakyamuni Buddha (Enlightenment).

It was only Shakyamuni Buddha, in the entire history of India, who had the Dalits best interest in mind. Buddha taught that one becomes a Brahmin through virtue, not through birth. Ghandi was too embroiled in the teachings of castism, to have been anything but a pawn of the Brahmanical power brokers.

Daisaku Ikeda is a pawn of the power brokers of the Club of Rome and their new world order while the Lotus Sutra teaches that peace and security in this life and a fortunate birth in the next is realized through the One Buddha Vehicle. The socio-political strategies of such men as Ghandi, Ikeda, and King, are doomed to failure.

"I do not know whether the Great Teacher Dengyō’s inner enlightenment was inferior or equal to that of Nāgārjuna and T’ien-t’ai, but I am convinced that, in calling upon all Buddhist believers to adhere to a single doctrine, he showed himself to be superior to Nāgārjuna and Vasubandhu and to surpass even Nan-yüeh and T’ien-t’ai." -- The Selection of the Time

"And when the two characters for namu are prefixed to Myoho-renge-kyo, or the Lotus Sutra of the Wonderful Law, we have the formula Namu-myoho-renge-kyo." SGI's faulty translation is, "we have the formula Nam-myoho-renge kyo".

Since we know that Nichiren never, not even once, wrote Nam-myoho-renge-kyo. we can conclude that SGI's translation of the Opening of the Eyes is faulty and deceptive. So too is their chanting of Nam myoho renge kyo. Even were we to give them some credit for chanting the truncated Daimoku, Nichiren teaches, it is correct faith which is most important and their faith is even more incorrect than their pronunciation of the Mystic Law. Is there any doubt that there is an association between incorrect faith and an incorrect pronunciation of the Daimoku? No, it is a direct correlation.

“What an occasion for rejoicing! Though born into an evil age that is stained with the five impurities, we have been able to see and hear the true words of the one vehicle. We read that a person who has planted roots of good fortune [under Buddhas] equal in number to the sands of the Hiranyavatī or the Ganges River is able to encounter this sutra and take faith in it. Now you have aroused the mind that rejoices in faith. Thus without a doubt, just as a box and its lid fit together, so will your own faith evoke the Buddha’s compassionate response, and the two will unite as one.” -- Nichiren

"WADA So when we consider how to actualize the oneness of Master and Disciple in everyday life, we should consider, "If I were Sensei, how would I think about this?" or, "If I were Sensei, what would I do about this?" I think that our taking action that President Ikeda would take is, in one sense to actualize the oneness of master and disciple.

TANIGAWA If we truly with to reach this point, we must read President Ikeda's guidance repeatedly. We must get to the point where we can't distinguish between our own speech and action and what we would do if we were the SGI President. It's incorrect for us to put our opinions about how to behave over what we believe President Ikeda would do. It's even worse to act without thinking about what President Ikeda would do. This is not acting as a disciple." -- Seikyo Times, August, 1990, p. 45 in an article entitled "Dialogue and Democracy."

Let us start with cause and effect and let us end there too. Let us also talk about change. Let us say we want to cause an effect (goal). I’ll pick an effect. You are a manager of a large and busy restaurant so lets introduce a memorable spaghetti sauce alla bolognese. The goal is a delicious bolognese sauce. For those who don’t know, a bolognese sauce is a garlicky, tomatoey, thick meat sauce with a touch of cream. To make a memorable sauce, first of all we have to start with the finest ingredients: Vine ripened plum tomatoes, fresh garlic, a ground meat mixture of the finest beef and sausage. Fresh mushrooms, peppers, onions. Carrots for sweetness. Fresh picked bay leaves, oregano, rosemary, parsley, kosher salt and fresh ground pepper. Extra virgin olive oil, sweet cream, and the finest cooking wine. A grating of truffles.

We saute the garlic in the olive oil till just before it turns brown, then we add the peppers, onions, mushrooms and carrots and in a separate pan we brown the meat in a little olive oil. While the meat is browning we add our spices to the vegetable saute and then, in a minute or two we add the peeled tomatoes and cooking wine. We turn down the heat a bit and add the golden browned meat mixture. We stir the sauce with a wooden spoon every fifteen minutes for the next 6 or 7 hours and add a little more wine and water to achieve a slow reduction. We add the cream and the grated truffle mixture, and continue to stir every fifteen minutes for another hour or two. at the same time we are preparing the home made paste. Boil the water and put the home made pasta in the boiling water for 3 minutes. We drain every drop of water from the pasta, add butter and pour our magnifico sauce over the spaghetti. Finally we add the grated aged cheese, a mixture of parmagiana and Romano cheese from Parma Italy. We pour ourselves a glass of Barolo and we go to town while sopping up the sauce in fresh baked Italian bread.

We have made a meal to die for. We have followed the recipe of the masters of Italian cooking.

Now I give you another scenario. We take Delmonte stewed tomatoes, garlic salt, a ground meat mixture of possum and raccoon, mushrooms, carrots, onions, etc. that have been lying in the refrigerator for two months, throw it all into liquefied Crisco lard, add Mad Dog Twenty-Twenty a touch of tobasco sauce, and buttermilk and stir for fifteen or twenty minutes. Put it over overcooked Ronzoni Spaghetti and add some grated Velveeta cheese. You call this “Bolognese” sauce. You accompany the meal with white bread and beer that has been opened three days ago.

You can not separate the means from the ends when even making a meal. How can you separate the means from the ends when revealing Buddhahood and realizing Kosen Rufu? What the SGI has done to Nichiren Lotus Sutra Buddhism is to make it virtually unrecognizable to the Buddhas, Bodhisattvas and protective deities throughout the universe. Although it contains, tomatoes [SGI twisted Daimoku], meat [rancid SGI Gohonzons], and inferior cheese and spices [SGI doctrines], it is hardly Nichiren Daishonin's recipe. You may call both bolognese sauce [Lotus Sutra Buddhism] but the Buddhas and bodhisattvas can tell the difference. There is no possibility of attaining Buddhahood or Kosen Rufu with a recipe that so dramatically differs from Nichiren Daishonin's. Even were you to add fine ingredients to the slop you created, it would be unfit for human or heavenly consumption.

SPECIAL REPORT: Why is Soka Gakkai Being Allowed to Influence Our Public Schools?Wednesday, June 13, 2001Beyer Elementary School in San Ysidro, California, Appoints SGI President and Mrs. Ikeda as Honorary Principals (Original Article from SGI Website Here)On June 6, SGI President Daisaku Ikeda and his wife, Mrs. Kaneko Ikeda, were appointed honorary principals of Beyer Elementary School in San Ysidro, California, USA, in recognition of their longstanding contributions to the advancement of education, anti-violence, and peace on an international scale, based on the value-creating pedagogy of Soka education. Mr. and Mrs. Ikeda are being lauded as ideal role models, reflecting the school's educational philosophy. On the same day, the school also dedicated a garden, grown and cared for by the students, to educator and first Soka Gakkai president Tsunesaburo Makiguchi (1871-1944)--The Makiguchi California Native Plant Garden--in commemoration of his 130th birthday. Trees were planted in honor of Mr. Makiguchi, Mr. Ikeda, Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr., and Cesar Chavez (1927-1993), founder of the United Farm Workers' Union. San Ysidro is located in the southern-most part of California, next to the U.S.-Mexico border. Attending the ceremony were: Beyer Elementary School Principal Fred Cruz, San Ysidro School Administrator Grace Kojima, Beyer School teacher Josephine Hamada, who proposed the honorary principal appointments, other faculty and students, and SGI-USA General Director Daniel Nagashima, who represented Mr. and Mrs. Ikeda.Monday, November 26, 2001Beyer Elementary School, California, to Establish Toda Garden (Original Article from SGI Website Here)Beyer Elementary School in San Ysidro, California, plans to establish a "Toda Peace Tree Grove" on the school grounds in memory of Josei Toda, second Soka Gakkai president and mentor to SGI President Daisaku Ikeda. On November 13, a cherry tree planting ceremony was held to commemorate the start of the garden's construction. The dedication is a gesture of appreciation for the goodwill and friendship between Beyer Elementary School and Mr. and Mrs. Ikeda, who were named honorary principals of Beyer in June this year. In August, Mr. Ikeda presented a poem to students in Beyer and donated books to the school library. The SGI contributed cherry trees to San Ysidro and plants to Beyer's Makiguchi California Native Plant Garden, which was established as a tribute to the humanistic pedagogy of educator and first Soka Gakkai president Tsunesaburo Makiguchi. Friday, February 22, 2002(Original Article from SGI Website Here)Beyer Elementary School students, San Ysidro, California In August 2001, Mr. Ikeda presented a poem to students in Beyer Elementary School in San Ysidro, California, USA, and donated books to the school library, following his and his wife Kaneko Ikeda's appointments as honorary school principals in June 2001. The SGI also contributed cherry trees to San Ysidro and plants to Beyer's native plant garden, which was established as a tribute to the humanistic pedagogy of educator and first Soka Gakkai president Tsunesaburo Makiguchi. The school plans to honor Josei Toda, second Soka Gakkai president and Mr. Ikeda's mentor, by naming a tree grove on the school grounds in his memory. Saturday, August 24, 2002Beyer School in Southern California, USA, Unveils Monument Inscribed with SGI President's Poem(Original Article from SGI Website Here)Beyer School teachers and students with SGI representativesOn August 19, Beyer School in San Ysidro, California, USA, unveiled a monument inscribed with a poem SGI President Daisaku Ikeda dedicated to Beyer School students in August 2001. SGI Vice President Hiromasa Ikeda attended the ceremony on behalf of his father, together with Soka Gakkai Vice President Kenji Yoshigo and SGI-USA General Director Daniel Nagashima. Mr. and Mrs. Ikeda were named honorary principals of the school in 2001. Tuesday, June 17, 2003Beyer Elementary School in San Ysidro, California, USA, Commemorates First Soka Gakkai President's Birth Anniversary(Original Article from SGI Website Here)Beyer students pose in Makiguchi Garden with Principal Cruz and teacher Josephine HamadaBeyer Elementary School in San Ysidro, California, USA, commemorated the 132nd birth anniversary of educator and first Soka Gakkai president Tsunesaburo Makiguchi. The ceremony also commemorated the second anniversary of the Makiguchi California Native Plant Garden, which was established in June 2001 as a tribute to Mr. Makiguchi's humanistic pedagogy. Principal Fred Cruz, teachers and students of Beyer Elementary School and SGI-USA representatives attended. On the occasion, SGI President Daisaku Ikeda and Mrs. Kaneko Ikeda received a commendation from California State Senator Denise Moreno Ducheny, for their "efforts to promote the time-honored principles of nonviolence and community empowerment, while encouraging children and adults to enjoy our region's natural beauty." SGI-USA Senior Vice General Director Richard Sasaki received a certificate, on behalf of the Ikedas, from Ms. Ducheny. SGI-USA Vice General Director Ian McIlraith read the Ikedas' message of appreciation. [In June 2001, SGI President Daisaku Ikeda and Mrs. Kaneko Ikeda were named honorary principals of the school for their longstanding contributions to the advancement of education. Mr. Ikeda presented a poem to Beyer students and donated books to the school library. The SGI contributed cherry trees to San Ysidro and plants to Beyer's Makiguchi California Native Plant Garden. As a gesture of appreciation for the goodwill and friendship between Beyer and Mr. and Mrs. Ikeda, the school opened "Toda Peace Cherry Tree Grove" on the school grounds in memory of second Soka Gakkai president Josei Toda.]

This message was taken from a public message board on yahoo catflap1 [Gunther] (30/M/Germany) 6/9/00 5:13 am

Hello Everyone,

Uh this getting more and more interesting. Great passages from the Gosho by the way. Jim, I hope you do not doubt my position aginst NS. What realy gets me going is actually not Nikken, but the people who follow him, even though their number declines. It may sound a bit sadistic but 'picture this...' (thats from Golden Girls), if i chant for him (which I do not do on a regular basis)I wonder how that might make him realy furious, I guess in his mind he does not need any Daimoku anyway.

The enemies are all around us the worst are the ones from within I guess. In the end this IS mappo, the latter days of the law, personally I do not feel any contradiction between showing compassion and taking a stand.

Are there any more people out there who have real first hand experience with NS. I fell the whole issue is most important, as here SGI can clearly state what it stands for. In this HQ here we have studied the priesthood issue very thoroughly - to me it IS clear that NS do represent the absolute evil. It is up to us to keep the teaching pure.

On a German Maillist it just heared that there is a Nichiren Shu priest who gives sort of a lecture on Ichinen Sanzen at EXPO 2000 in Hannover...I don't even want to get into this too much...but enemies are around us everywhere Nikken just one of a whole bunch of them...

"The problem isn't the book [Q'uran] its the reader" -- Tariq Ramadan Islamic scholar

Nonsense. The Q'uran is flush with violence. There are no words, not one word in the Lotus Sutra, that exhorts believers to kill, not even to kill a mole cricket. Believe in the Lotus Sutra and peace will become real. The religion based on the Lotus Sutra is the true religion of peace.

"Fundamental to achieving genuine advancement and victory, is the spirit of oneness of mentor and disciple, which is also the most important foundation of Buddhist practice..." -- top SGI leader

"Namu-myoho-renge-kyo, should be their foundation." -- Nichiren"Faith in the Lotus Sutra is the foundation." -- Nichiren

"The Lotus Sutra is the heart and core of the sacred teachings expounded by Shakyamuni Buddha during the course of his lifetime, the foundation of all the eighty thousand doctrines of Buddhism." -- Nichiren

"The Lotus Sutra says that its practitioners will be cursed and spoken ill of and will encounter hatred and jealousy even more severe than in Sakyamuni's time. 'This sutra is hard to uphold,' the Lotus Sutra also says. In the Gosho, citing these sutra passages, the Daishonin repeatedly explains that those who propagate the Mystic Law in the Latter Day will be assailed by many difficulties. This certainly has been the case in my life. I am living Nichiren Daishonin's Buddhism with my entire being. I have borne one attack after another. I have inherited President Toda's spirit and withstood all. **No one but I could have endured what I have.** I am living solely to safeguard the legacy of President Makiguchi, to protect the SGI and the members who are so dear to me. Today, at this gathering to commemorate May 3 -- which represents the prime point of the Soka Gakkai and the SGI -- I want you to understand this earnest, unwavering spirit that guides my life." (World Tribune, June 13, 1997, p.11-12) April 21, 1997, speech by Daisaku Ikeda in commemoration of May 3

"Probably no one could ever come close to repeating what I have accomplished." (World Tribune, September 26, 1997, p. 11).

"In understanding sensei's concerns and desires, and chanting to make sensei's concerns my concerns, I can *gain* sensei's heart. When I understand sensei's concerns and integrate them into my daily life, I am truly walking step in step with sensei." -- Pat Matthews

"I can understand your problem. Sensei is trying to open your heart of compassion to others." -- Pat Matthews

"If President Ikeda, who has led activities for realizing world peace for more than 40 years, is not the Buddha, then, there is no hope that I can become a Buddha. Then, Buddhism is a mere idealism, and I will quit." -- Public statement on arbn by Richard Hower

"SGI President Ikeda has been doing this for the most of his life, and took the initiative for establishing world peace. He is respected by thousands of world leaders. If he is not the Buddha of the 20th century, then who can be?"-- Richard Hower

"I have a problem with PI = God (or Nikken = God) i.e., perfection and salvation through worshipping them. I have no problem with PI = Buddha" --Shirley, SGI member

"Tremendous! A Russian Scholar who is neither a member of the SGI, nor even a Buddhist gave such a profound talk! She did not specifically mention who is the Buddha of the modern times. But from the context, I believe that she is pointing to Ikeda SENSEI as the *Buddha of the modern times*, and that, in more general sense, all members of the Soka Gakkai International throughout the world are Buddhas of the modern times." --Richard Hower, SGI-USA member, from his website:

http://www.paonline.com/hower/voro.htm

"Ive been in the SGI all my life, and I would do anything for SGI, Pres. Ikeda" -- Pat Hawes, SGI-USA member

"After the Chinese government massacred students at Tennanmon square, China became an outcast in the international community. Ikeda said, "our friends are suffering. Let’s visit them and encourage them!" -- Andy 357, SGI member

"Because We have the money, and Hokkeko does not have EVEN A FRACTION of the money we have, who do you think will win this battle between the corrupt priesthood and SGI?" -- Richard Hower, SGI-USA member

"All I wish is that you will embrace this sutra and cast your name upon the sea of the vows made by the Buddhas of the ten directions, that you entrust your honor to the heaven that is the compassion of the bodhisattvas of the three existences. One who thus embraces the Lotus Sutra will cause the heavenly gods, dragons, and the others of the eight kinds of nonhuman beings, as well as all the great bodhisattvas, to become one’s followers. Not only that, but that person’s physical body, still in the process of forming causes for achieving Buddhahood, will acquire the Buddha eye of one who has perfected that course; and this ordinary flesh that exists in the realm of the conditioned will put on the holy garments of the unconditioned. Then one need never fear the three paths or tremble before the eight difficulties. One will ascend to the peak of the mountain of the seven expedients and sweep away the clouds of the nine worlds. Flowers will bloom in the garden of immaculate earth, and the moon will shine brightly in the sky of the Dharma nature. One can rely on the passage that promises, “Such a person assuredly and without doubt will attain the Buddha way,” and there is no question about the Buddha’s pronouncement that “I am the only person who can rescue and protect others.”

The following was mass emailed to 48 SGI-USA members ion the Chicago area. The message was sent by Chicago headquarters chief, Ed Hamada. It is a codification of a meeting that was held on 6-5-00 in Chicago, in which members were told to pray and take action to prevent people from

attending the 20th anniversary of the Chicago Nichiren Shoshu temple:

From: AHamada@aol.com

Full-name: AHamada

Message-ID: 11.4ea719e.2675ba84@a...

Date: Mon, 12 Jun 2000 00:01:08 EDT

Subject: Soka Spirit Movement

To: (48 e-mail recipients, deleted for privacy purposes)

As many of you know already, on June 24(Sat), the 20th Anniversary Ceremony will take place at the Myogyo-ji Temple in Chicago. To support this event, Nikken is going to dispatch Rev. Obayashi, the oversea bureau chief of Nikken sect with other priests from Japan. Also it is expected that more priests from Europe, South America as well as other parts of USA are coming to Chicago. Sugeno and many temple members are very actively promoting this event to recruit people and create more momentum within temple members. To discourage such an attempt as expanding the slanderer's force, I'd like to ask you to pray individually or by group for "No body goes to temple on June 24 from our state, our city and our organization", and to take any other appropriate actions to keep temple members away from temple on that day. I really appriciate for your cooperation on this matter. *****end of directive*****

After this message was leaked by a concerned SGI member, SGI spin-creeps tried to put the blame squarely on the headquarters chief who sent it. However, this is simply just another directive of many in which SGI tells the membership to use prayers like a voodoo spell, and to take physical action against Buddhists who are simply exercising their basic right of freedom of religion.

Soka Gakkai International: Buddhism or Voodism? SGI mobilizes official campaign to use Buddhist Prayers to cast evil spells of misfortune on the Nichiren Shoshu Buddhist community

" I just recently heard about how the New York members did a special daimoku [Buddhist Prayer] campain [sic] to close the temple annex that was near the Cultural Center. Great work! [of course this is pure propaganda. the annex is still open and is used for gatherings as listed on the NY temple schedule at: http://www.nstny.org/schedule.htm] Now the youth division of San Francisco region will be starting a daimoku [Buddhist Prayer] campain [sic] to close all the temples in the U.S.A. Maybe it will have an effect on the temple in Spain." Michael, SGI member, Stockton (posted on the SGI's public bulletin board 1-10-99)

From: Ten_Ren (34/F/San Mateo, CA) (SGI member)

Jan 11 1999 1:33PM EST

I finally got to go to the Culture Center again. It was such fun. They had a little play called Spiritually Incorrect. They gave us a good laugh about the situation as kind of a kick off to ask for 1 billion daimoku to close all the temples. Everyone was excited by it. I plan on filling up several cards of chant time.

(ibid)

From the public Buddhist newsgroup:

Has anyone heard about the latest chanting goal for SGI members?

Goal: Chant one billion Daimoku to close all NSTemples

Perhaps the most disturbing thing is the SGI member's willingness to discuss their campaign openly as if it's something to be proud of:

Subject: Re: 10 Billion Daimoku.

Date: 1/28/99 11:33 AM Pacific Standard Time

Message-id: <19990128143338.20240.00000492@ng12.aol.com>

SGI has set a daimoku goal to close NST Temples?

[Marc]

If it works..can we have them ?

Marc,

Please join in. I think it's a great idea to use daimoku for problems, and

the Nikken sect is such a negative force that I can't see what's wrong with

chanting to close their temples down. I certainly don't want a Nikken temple in my area. I have no problem with people who practice with other Nichiren sects, the only problem I have is when they single out situations they may have had with individuals and blame it on the whole organization, or when they spread tabloid stories around about President Ikeda that aren't true. But daimoku is daimoku no matter who chants and if your chanting for something that is not good, it will come back and smack you in the face.

The less Nikken temples the less opportunities for people to support Devadatta. Is it true the followers of Devadatta had a small sect that lasted about 500 years after the Buddha's passing? Hopefully, with daimoku, the Nikken sect won't last that long. Maureen

"We are merely chanting for the sources of the confusion to close, so the Daishonin's Buddhism can apread more freely. Pretty good karma, I would

"Closing all the temples is not a positive thing? I don't see anything negative about it. You are not unlike the hoards of sterile bugs they breed to destroy a species, after they think they have mated and stop looking to mate, they find out that they were fooled, and have nothing in side, they just die empty. Of course it is a result of our communal actions from the past that we have to suffer the likes of you and the Nikken Shu. I don't think the most of us want to repeat those causes and for you to go away and stop causing misery and confusion means that we would have to change our negative karma first. So chanting to close the temples is a good thing and the result will be that we finally over come the negative destiny we have to suffer y'all and then y'all will have some other mission to fullfill cause one hand clapping doesn't make much sound, like you gotta make the cause to get the effect. At a more profound level, you actually are no different than the despots and dictators you complain about. You just haven't been give the power to enact your will to that degree. They have just kept you tethered in. Even when you get loose for a moment, you still stay put. Like the guy infront of the fire making boogeyman shadows and the fools who believe in those shadows. Chanting to close the temples is a good thing. Chanting for your happiness ridiculus. Oh please MrBill can't you just make the cancer happy?" mbh (Bruce H. Miller) SGI member, San Francisco

Soka Gakkai thinks Buddhist Prayers can be used to cast their evil spells of misfortune. However, no matter how much Daimoku such a hateful group chants, their silly Voodoo curses will never be answered... it can only lead to their own misfortune...

In the past, I have addressed the question of Nikken's harmful activities, and his destructive and denigrating behavior towards others. Today however, I would like to focus on the importance of how, praying for Nikken's removal, our life is purified and our enlightened aspect elevated; how, as a consequence, we experience unparalleled advancement in our lives. For reasons I will enlarge on in my talk, I beseech you all to chant passionately and with a most fervent prayer, for the removal of Nikken .

Since Nikken severed relations with the SGI, many people with a strong and consistent practice have spoken of a heavy cloud over their hearts and difficulty in focusing their prayers. One elderly woman told me she simply cannot shake loose her feelings of heaviness, and never feels refreshed from her practice, even though she practices strongly. This is the effect of Nikken's devilish function*. I, myself, broke through the dark clouds over my heart and experienced feelings of liberation and limitless joy in my life after becoming involved in the activity of bringing temple members back to the Daishonin's Buddhism.

In the Gosho, it is written: " To refute evil is a great good. To refute good is a great evil". This passage explains why there is no choice other than to challenge Nikken and consequently, what he represents. President Ikeda, who more than anyone demonstrates the application of this fighting spirit, has said: "To fight against supreme evil represents supreme good".

For the last seven years, I have followed this course of action with my life and my practice. To do so, causes an eruption of the mystic law's energy throughout every cell in one's body, which is why this type of prayer has allowed many members to overcome serious illnesses. Here is one such experience:

A woman's husband, who doesn't practice, was diagnosed with stage four cancer in the lymph nodes of his neck. He was given one week to live. Upon hearing the guidance I have described, his wife went home and, immediately, at midnight, began to chant. Her prayer was single- mindedly for the defeat of Nikken, coupled with her deep desire that her husband recover. After two hours, she experienced a deep awakening. She felt a profound sense of appreciation to have been born at such a momentous and determining time in the history of Buddhism, and in the context of the future of mankind. She understood, on the one hand, the defining nature of Daisaku Ikeda as a disciple of Nichiren and a great bodhisattva, and, on the other hand, that Nikken's function is that of the devil of the sixth heaven. She perceived clearly what a golden age this is, and how she, as a bodhisattva living at this time, could actively influence the outcome of the battle between good and evil, which would affect the future of mankind for eternity**. With this realization, the woman's joy was so intense, that she chanted from midnight until eight in the morning without any sense of time passing. During this time, her husband, who was hospitalized, experienced major convulsions, and vomited quantities of blood. His doctor, alarmed by this deterioration in the man's condition, concluded that he wouldn't last the day. However, despite these circumstances, he conducted tests, which yielded totally unexpected results, whereupon he called the man's wife, and told her to disregard what he had said previously about her husband having only one week to live. The fact is he said, "There is no trace of cancer cells to be found in his body".

This experience is a tremendous testimonial to the power and focus of this woman's passionate prayer and her unflinching determination. It is typical of many such experiences.

Here is another experience from a man in Hokkaido. His business was selling racehorses. Unfortunately, with the recession being so severe, unable to sell a single horse, and drowning in debt, he found himself on the brink of bankruptcy. A leader came to encourage him. The leader told the man of this specific prayer with which he could overcome his current crisis, despite the reality of a severe recession. He encouraged the man to pray fervently to defeat Nikken and to participate whole-heartedly in the movement to bring back temple members. The man replied: "I live in Hokkaido and Nikken lives in Taiseki-Ji. I have never had contact with him personally and certainly never been mistreated by him, so I fail to see the relevance of this".

It was the leader's unshakeable confidence, however, which finally convinced him to take action and follow this guidance. Immediately, without hesitating, he began to chant aggressively to defeat Nikken. In a short time he had sold three horses from which he made a profit of $200,000. He continued selling horses accumulating a total profit in excess of $1,000,000. Feeling such tremendous appreciation at this remarkable turn in events and how much his life had opened, he expended huge efforts and successfully promoted 27 new Soka Gakkai journal subscriptions, thereby fulfilling his debt of gratitude.

In conclusion, many of you are doubtless wondering why it is that such dramatic results can come about from impassioned prayer, to defeat Nikken. It is as President Ikeda has said: "Fighting supreme evil creates supreme good". In other words, amongst our global community upon this entity we call Earth, a cancer called Nikken is proliferating. Before this cancer erupted, most of our prayers had been based on our individual desires. However, with the onset of this cancer, the metabolism of our planet has undergone change. The collusion of corrupt priests with government authorities, to destroy the activities of bodhisattvas has precipitated the three calamities and the seven disasters, exactly as the Gosho describes. This has become the reality of our times. It is demonstrably clear that the earth's energy field and our environment have undergone radical disruption since Nikken revealed his true identity as the devil of the sixth heaven, specifically when he severed the relationship with the entire body of the SGI, and propounded that he alone is the portal through which people may access enlightenment. Whereas our prayers, until now, have been motivated generally by our personal wishes, in this critical time, it is of crucial importance that we stand up for justice through our prayer and actions, to eradicate this most powerful enemy intent on destroying Buddhism.

As I mentioned, at the beginning of my talk, those members who have been heavy in heart, upon undertaking to chant with such a passionate and determined prayer, experience an immediate uplifting of their spirits, and an eruption of overwhelming joy they are unable to explain. When one chants with whole-hearted intent to defeat Nikken, one is actually purging one's life of its darkest demons. This is why people have felt liberated and experienced unbelievable joy welling up from the depths of their lives. Because the inner transformation resulting from such prayer is of such a profound nature, it comes as no surprise that the environment reflects this in like measure. This prayer will not fail to bring about a vital and indestructible life force. This is the working of the Mystic Law.*Expand on the meaning of: "Remove Nikken" and "Nikken's devilish function", as external elements, in the context of our own internal realm. ** Golden Age Commentary: What makes this age a golden age is to realize Nikken's pre-eminence in the lineage of arch enemies of Buddhism, wherein he may be contrasted to Devadatta in the time of Shakyamuni, and Ryokan in the time of Nichiren. With Nikken, Buddhism is ultimately faced with the most powerful enemy imaginable. As the High Priest, he leads the priesthood, whose primary function it is to protect the Law, together with a multitude of lay believers, towards a teaching in direct contradiction with Buddhism. His teaching denies the equality of all people and the inherent nature of enlightenment, and, instead, substitutes the concept that enlightenment may be bestowed or denied by the sanction of the High Priest. ----